Central Bank of Iran bans trading cryptocurrencies

The Central Bank of Iran through its latest directive has officially banned trading all cryptocurrencies through the country’s banking system and other affiliated institutions, local media reported.

According to the reports, the directive was issued by the banking licenses and anti-money laundry department in mid-April.

A group of Iranians reportedly used social media and online services to trade the cryptocurrencies.

Mohammad Beigi, the Director of the Payment System department of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), earlier said that trading the Bitcoin at the exchange bureaus of the country is against the law.

“Those exchange bureaus that are engaged in selling Bitcoin are unauthorized,” Ibena (Iranian banks and economy news agency) quoted him as saying.

The CBI move came amid the recent chaos in the Iranian currency market and only a few days after the central bank’s decision on imposing a ban on the sale of foreign currencies at exchange bureaus.

Last year rumors swept the media that the country’s ICT ministry was preparing to embrace the Bitcoin as a solution to bypass economic sanctions that previously disconnected Iran’s banking system from global commerce and finance.